New chief of FSUPD looks forward to working with community

By Bella Grimaldi

News Editor

The new Chief of the Framingham State University Police Department, Philip Di Blasi, was officially sworn in on March 2 at a ceremony held at 10 a.m. in the McCarthy Center Forum.

Students were notified of Di Blasi’s appointment in an email sent by Meg Nowak Borrego, vice president of Student Affairs, on Feb. 26. 

In an email to The Gatepost, Nowak Borrego said the vacancy was due to former Police Chief Joseph Cecchi accepting another opportunity.

She said Cecchi’s last day at FSU was Oct. 31 and the job was posted on Nov. 10. 

Martin Laughlin, FSUPD deputy chief, said he filled in as interim police chief until Di Blasi was hired. 

Di Blasi included a message in Nowak Borrego’s email in which he said, “I am thrilled to serve as your new Chief of Police at Framingham State University, and I am truly fortunate and thankful to have this opportunity!”

In an email to The Gatepost, Di Blasi said he looks forward to supporting students, staff, and faculty on campus.

He said, “I am still very much in the learning phase, but it is important for me that the officers and staff of the Framingham State University Police Department remain visible and available to our community.”

He added he does not have any specific initiatives planned because he wants to observe the community first and find areas at Framingham State that could be improved. 

“I think there are opportunities to grow our programming and tailor it to what our community wants. While we are public safety professionals, I would very much be interested in learning what it is our community would like to [see] in terms of programming from FSUPD,” he said. 

Laughlin said, “With Chief Di Blasi’s leadership and what he’s done in a mere two weeks, I think we’re on a good path.”

President Nancy Niemi said she believes Di Blasi will impact the FSU community by developing relationships on and off campus. 

“What I know he has done in other schools and has said he’ll do here is knowing our community well - knowing our students, knowing our faculty and staff - and being a partner with the work that we do,” she said.

Di Blasi said he became acquainted with Framingham State and FSUPD when he worked as chief of police at MassBay Community College. “As the MassBay PD team and the FSUPD team began training together in some areas, I often heard, and overheard, the officers talking about events, the students, and the University.” 

He added, “The number one thing that stood out to me was how glowingly the officers spoke about FSU students. They also spoke about the supportive environment that is FSU, for both employees and students.

Laughlin said FSUPD built a good relationship with Di Blasi when the police departments trained together.  

He added during the interviewing process, Di Blasi “interviewed with FSUPD and it felt like he built a good rapport right off the rip with them.”

Di Blasi said, “I loved my time as chief of police at MassBay, but when the opportunity arose to possibly work together with the officers and staff of the FSUPD, I strongly felt I had to apply.”

Niemi said with Di Blasi being hired, she looks forward to seeing “the continued and developing sense of camaraderie and teamwork within the police department.”

Di Blasi said he began his career at Suffolk University Police Department in 1994 and worked as assistant district attorney for Suffolk County in 2001 before returning to the Suffolk University PD until 2004. 

Di Blasi then worked as lieutenant at Wellesley College’s police department until he was promoted to interim police chief and left to work at MassBay in 2022.

“I saw an opportunity, at MassBay, to reintegrate its police department into the community,” he said. “It was important to me that department members be visible, available, and supportive to all members of our community. It was even more important that our support was obvious through our actions and not just words and flyers.”

According to Laughlin, he and Nowak Borrego oversaw the process of filling the police chief position.

Borrego said there were seven other members on the search committee, including Jorge Ruiz, Framingham Police Department deputy chief; Michael Vinciulla, Ashland Police Department deputy chief; Karen Nicholas, FSUPD sergeant; Shawn Delensky, FSUPD K9 corporal and union member; David Baldwin, director of Human Resources; Kianna Bauer, Title IX specialist in Human Resources; Benjamin Day, director of the Counseling Center; Charles Sachs, associate psychology & philosophy professor, and Nathan Piette, SGA senator and member of the SGA Safety Committee.

According to Nowak Borrego, the committee began reviewing applications on Dec. 1.

Before hiring Di Blasi, Nowak Borrego sent an invitation via email to students to attend open forum interviews for three candidates on Jan. 8, 9, and 20. 

The email included copies of the candidates’ resumes and a link for the FSU community to provide feedback on the candidates. 

Di Blasi said the hiring process “was extensive. … It began with an initial Zoom interview with a hiring panel. I was then invited to campus as one of the finalists to engage in a series of interviews, meetings, and a presentation to community members on President Obama's Task Force on 21^st Century Policing.” 

Nowak Borrego said Di Blasi stood out from the other candidates because he “had a significant amount of progressive police experience in the higher education settings, including the chief level. … He has the experience we are looking for, and I feel he will work well with our community.

“As the direct supervisor of the FSU police chief, I am excited to work with Chief Di Blasi. He brings excellent experience, his references speak very highly of him, and I have already been impressed with his approach to working with people and his decision-making,” she said.

Sophomore Matthew Goldstein, a MassBay student and FSU resident, said Di Blasi “brought integrity with a welcoming face” to his role at MassBay.

Goldstein said he thinks FSUPD could grow their connection to the community by hosting more events, including meet and greets with Ramsey, the campus comfort care K9. 

“This may include events tailored for students, educational approaches to student safety, and having public oversight committees to ensure community perspective,” he said. 

Framingham State junior Josh Gillen said he did not know who the previous chief was but thinks the hiring of Di Blasi is good. 

He added he believes the police department has a good connection to the community because they are easy to contact.

Framingham State sophomore David Forgione said he thinks the University police department should hold more events that involve the community. 

“Moving forward, I would like FSUPD to continue to keep students in the know. I think it’s beneficial for the community to be aware of the actions the police are taking and the moves they are making,” he said. 

“I would like to get an opportunity to be around them more and learn what they’re doing on campus. I think everyone would benefit from hearing them speak more often,” said Forgione.

Framingham State junior Mac Johns said he didn’t know a new chief of police was hired. 

Johns said in the future, he would like to see FSUPD “better assess where there are bad conditions for students around campus.”

He added he believes University police haven’t been as interactive with the community since his first year and he would like to see them talk with students more often. 

Framingham State senior Alix Ayoub said she would like to see FSUPD interact with more students in the Framingham State community and deal with complaints better than they have in the past. 

She said she thinks the University police department could improve engagement by hosting tables that feature the resources and support they provide.

Ayoub said, “Collaborations with student clubs and orgs or other departments could be a wonderful way to connect with a larger population at FSU.”

[ Editor’s Note: Nathan Piette is a staff writer for The Gatepost ]